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Lupita Rips a Black Woman Who Told Her She Needs to Be 'Lighter-Skinned Like Beyoncé'

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Lupita Rips a Black Woman Who Told Her She Needs to Be 'Lighter-Skinned Like Beyoncé'

The actress gave the perfect response.

Published September 16, 2016

Lupita Nyong'o is already considered a treasure in Hollywood, but despite her massive success — with one Oscar under her belt — not everyone seems to think she has the staying power to last in the big biz.

One talent agent in particular, when criticizing the actress, compared her to Beyoncé, saying she would need to have a lighter complexion like the superstar to have longevity, but Lupita had the perfect response to her shade.

"I have to deafen my ears to that Christan lady," Lupita started when addressing the problematic words spoken by African-American talent agent Tracy Christian.

"Would Beyoncé be who she is if she didn't look like she does? Being lighter-skinned, more people can look at her image and see themselves in her," Christian said in a Hollywood Reporterstory back in 2014. "In Lupita's case, I think she has two-and-a-half, three years. If she can find a franchise — a Star Wars or a Bourne Identity — a big crossover film, or if she's cast by a significant filmmaker, then she's golden, she'll have carved out a unique path for herself."

Though Lupita did land the Star Wars gig, she says she's much more than a piece of a Hollywood puzzle that fizzles out with time.

"She is looking at me as a part of the cultural tapestry," she told Vogue. "I am living and breathing. That person is not considering what I had for breakfast, how that is sitting in my stomach, and why I didn't do well with that audition. I can't think like that."

Well said.

See how Lupita slammed Vogue earlier this year in the BET Breaks video, above.

BET.com is your No. 1 source for Black celebrity news, photos, exclusive videos and all the latest in the world of hip hop and R&B music.

Written by Moriba Cummings

(Photo: Mike Windle/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)

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